, senator hagel? >> well, senator, i stand by them because i made them. >> were you right? were you correct in your assessment? >> well, i would defer to the judgment of history to sort that out. but i'll -- >> the committee deserves your judgment as to whether you were right or wrong about the surge. >> i'll explain why i made those comments and -- >> i want to know if you were right or wrong. that's a direct question. i expect a direct answer. >> the surge assisted in the objective. but if we review the record a little bit -- >> will you please answer the question? were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam? were you correct or incorrect? yes or no? >> my reference to the surge being -- >> are you answering the question, senator hagel? the question is were you right or wrong? that's a pretty straightforward question. i would like the answer whether you were right or wrong, and then you are free to elabor

>> i think it means that hagel should be confirmed absolutely. this is over and they need a vote to confirm hagel as secretary of defense as soon as they come back into session. >> all right. "wired" magazine reports that senate minority leader mitch mcconnell asked the pentagon to get to the bottom of what he called a very troubling story. "i'm writing on behalf of a constituent who has contacted me regarding guantanamo bay prisoners receiving post-9/11 gi bill benefits." the constituent wrote to mcconnell about this disturbing information after reading an article on the duffel blog. it turns out that duffel blog reports on all kinds of stuff, like syria hosting iraq war reenactors. in other words, it's satire, folks. and now mcconnell's office is defending its actions? they put out a statement saying "senator mcconnell's office is hyper vigilant about finding answers to the questions raised by his constituents." how do you make that up, eric? >> that's a ridiculous statement from senator mcconnell's office. yes, senate offices, house office, th

cruz said hagel may have ties to iran? and could have taken money from countries like north korea. >> this committee knows absolutely nothing about the personal compensation chuck hagel received in 2008 and 2009 or 2010. it may be that he spoke at radical or extreme groups or anti-israel groups and accepted financial compensation. we don't know. it is at minimum relevant to know if that $200,000 that he deposited in his bank account came directly from saudi arabia, came directly from north korea. >> we should point out that there is absolutely no evidence supporting cruz's claims. florida senator bill nelson was not impressed with the texas senator cruz, and put the freshman senator in his place. >> i want to put on the record that this senator feels like that senator cruz has gone over the line. he basically has impugned the patriotism of the nominee. there is a certain degree of comity and civility that this committee has always been known for. to question, in essence, whether somebody is a fellow traveler with another c

hagel? >> you know, i saw that information today also, and that is more and more concerning with each day there are new things coming out. >> well, we got a problem, houston. friends of hamas does not exist. the group was made up by new york daily news reporter dan freedman as a joke. freedman said he was asking a republican aide on capitol hill about rumors that hagel had spoken to controversial groups. >> so i was trying to follow up on that. and i was -- i spoke to a republican aide on the phone, and i asked about that. and i threw out the example of friends of hamas. >> friedman was making a joke, but the aide apparently passed along the information, and shapiro ran with the story. and believe it or not, he is standing by it. the story as reported is correct. whether the information i was given by the source is correct, i'm not sure. what a journalistist standard. shapiro's story is still posted on breitbart.com with no correction or clarification. let's bring in eric burns tonight, demo

none of this has satisfied those leading the witch hunt against chuck hagel. during a google hangout this afternoon the president weighed in on the first ever filibuster of a secretary of defense nominee. >> it's just unfortunate that this kind of politics intrudes at a time when i'm still presiding over a war in afghanistan and i need a secretary of defense who is coordinating with our allies to make sure that our troops are getting the kind of strategy and mission that they deserve. >> all right. let's go to the big panel tonight. let's turn to bloomberg view columnist jonathan alter with us. also michelle goldberg of "newsweek" and the daily beast. and david corn of "mother jones" magazine. great to have all of you with us. jonathan, you first tonight. is this unprecedented filibuster a sign that the senate is totally broken? what do you make of what unfolded today? >> well, i just think it's a really unfortunate signal that the united states is sending to the world when as the president indicated you have, you know, conflicts abroad. and for us to say that

they have filibustered chuck hagel over benghazi. and now mccain still claims there is a massive cover-up. what is going on here? >> i think what is going on is a bit strange, just as you've implied. let me tell you where i was on friday. i was out at the new naval complex, the bethesda walter reed medical complex, visiting with wounded warriors. these are people who paid almost the maximum price, some would say even more than the maximum price, in iraq or afghanistan, triple amputees, double amputees. and we were talking about this. they brought the issue up of why mccain, graham, inhofe, cruz and others are opposing hagel, the real reason. and, you know, they dismissed inhofe. he never saw a foxhole in his life. they dismissed graham. he is an air force lawyer, never saw combat in his life. they dismissed cruz. they think he is an idiot. but when it came to john mccain, they shrugged their shoulders, and they looked at me and asked me why? this man is a veteran. this man was a prisoner of war. he showed a great deal of courage unde

hagel has been to war. he knows what it's all about. he is a two-time purple heart recipient who served our country in vietnam. and he had the nerve, think about that, to go against the republicans. he had the nerve to question a surge that would cost our country over a thousand american lives. we keep hearing about a republican effort to rebrand the party. but all i'm seeing is the same unprecedented obstruction. this is the first time a filibuster has been used against a defense secretary nominee. and it all boils down to a personal grudge? this is pretty vindictive politics, isn't it? senator mccain, whatever happened to country first? >>> the republicans are poised to shut down government. republicans are poised to let sequestration go forward. >> the country is on the verge of a disaster, and republicans are taking a vacation. the big congressional panel weighs in on today's big sequester developments. >>> and we knew about an asteroid the size of a swimming pool that sailed past earth. how did we ever miss this massive meteor expl

and now sitting united states senators are demanding hagel explain himself. hagel provided ayotte and graham with a copy of the speech and notes he does not recall making any such statement. now, folks, this is a pattern for the new gop that maybe mr. viguerie is looking for. senator rand paul pushing a theory about moving guns from libya to syria. paul's theory can be traced back to glenn beck. michele bachmann accused hillary clinton's chief of staff of having ties to the muslim brotherhood. her source? an uncorroborated report from a right wing talker frank gaffney. congressman darrell issa got in the act. he orchestrated an entire circus over the fast and furious gun running operation, all based on the rambling of one paranoid blogger. congressman dana rohrabacher alleged the government was able to monitor the benghazi attack in realtime based on a made-up hunch from right-wing blogger jennifer rubin. so time and time again, we are seeing elected officials peddle rumors and hearsay to further their agenda. they're blocking nominations. they're ruining peo

smear hagel and undermine ultimately president obama. "the new yorker" weighed in on this troubling development earlier and they wrote, "at its best reporting is like science. you form a hypothesis and you try to prove it. but more importantly, you shoot it full of holes to see if any of the wounds are fatal. this unfortunately is a lesson that a certain part of the conservative media doesn't seem to have learned yet." i'm joined tonight by the famous dan rather, anchor and managing editor of "dan rather reports" on axs tv. i'm honored. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much. it's good to be here. >> what are we seeing evolve in the information age in america when it comes to reporting and sourcing? >> well, good reporting and sourcing is in steep decline, and that leaves communications about american politics. keep in mind that we now have the new internet. together with traditional american journalism. it remains so susceptible to manipulation, deception, and distraction that it allows lies to get started and then spread like

. >> this is a clip from chuck hagel's hearing yesterday. listen to senator james inhofe's source for his information. >> there is an article the other day in the "washington post" by jennifer rubin called "our dim witted state department." it's kind of an interesting article. >> michael, how do you get these guys to stop listening to the same wild conspiracy theories? they just live in a different world. >> i think it is a little bit of a different world in that sense. i don't get -- i don't get the direction and the messaging that the party is putting out this right now. i really honestly don't. i think that we really need to sort of step back from this thing and really assess exactly what do we need to focus on. is benghazi of all the things that are pressing the american people right now something that as a national party we should be fixated on. hillary clinton, yes, she served as secretary of state. did an admiral job. most people would say that. yeah, there was this hiccup with benghazi. we unfortunately lost the lives of four u.s. se

and kenneth says hagel is the right man to bring the boys home. afghanistan, close it down. you can go to our facebook page right new and you can join in on the conversation. and don't forget to like the ed show when you're there. we appreciate that. >>> here she comes. congresswoman michele bachmann of minnesota gives herself high marks on her presidential run. well, of course we're going to do a fact check on that. stay with us. we're right back. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. for up to 16 hours of relief, try thermacare. by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! >>> let's all say happy bir

chuck hagel is a decorated vietnam veteran with combat experience. well, dick cheney was granted five deferments during the vietnam war and never served in the military. and finally, it's interesting that today is the very important anniversary for dick cheney. seven years ago today, cheney shot a man in the face while trying to hunt. it's the closest dick cheney will ever get to combat experience. >>> take it from me. congress must act. >> gabby giffords pushes for progress on guns as the nra strategy to stall legislation is caught on tape. >> a lot of that is going to be sort of delayed as the connecticut effect has to go through the process. >> up next, a special members only panel with representatives elijah cummings, jan chatkowski and keith ellison. >>> the head of fox news says president obama is trying to divide americans based on race. we'll show you the comments. >>> the manhunt continues for california cop killer christopher dorner. clint van zandt on the latest from los angeles is ahead. anno] pain not sitting too well? burning to feel be

and for that reason, there is people, including chuck hagel, who are supportive of drone technology, because it minimizes u.s. risk. but that -- that is a separate conversation. the operation conversation is separate from the legal one. and i think there is more information that is needed to figure out just exactly how we determine who is an imminent threat, who is an al qaeda operative. how do we make those determinations? who is involved in making the determinations before we launch the drone strike. i think those are very weighty questions that deserve more of a public hearing. >> well, the number of strikes versus the bush administration, colonel, very different. obviously, this is how the obama team wants to execute the war on terror. and the broad range, you're okay with it. but what do you tell innocent folks that get killed or an american that might be hit by a strike inadvertently? >> well, there is nothing you can say about that. war is a messy business. even technologically precise war like this. you raise an interesting point about this president. the first month he was i

senator cruz was recently criticized for making some unverified allegations against chuck hagel last month. angela, what about this? is cruz just trying to make a name for himself with the tea party, or is he really on a witch-hunt? >> senator cruz is a rebel without a legitimate cause. i don't know what is going on with him. but every time you turn around, there is some new hyperbole that he is spewing. and today to see him talking about, you know, the president is the most radical president ever, i'm sorry, but i want to know what the definition of radical is, because to me, radical is a president who would come up with a mass communications campaign to deceive the american public into believing there are weapons of mass destruction. i hardly see anything that president obama has done as radical. >> senator barbara boxer loosely compared ted cruz to joe mccarthy. john nichols, your thoughts. that a fair comparison? >> sure it is. when you suggest that there are communists on a faculty, and then when you're pressed about it you don't answer the questions, you play around with it, th